Flames [Prince Zuko - Book Three]

❃Chapter Twenty❃

After they flew away from Azula, the group fled to a rocky cliff. They hoped Azula wouldn't follow them because their group had gotten significantly smaller. Sokka and Katara's dad had to leave and so did Teo and the Duke. For some reason, Asake missed the Duke. He had made her laugh in the little time she spent with him. 

When they made it to the rocky cliff, they all stayed up, chatting with each other. However, Asake had gone to bed earlier than most, so she didn't really listen to what went on. It sounded like something had happened, but she didn't ask Zuko when he came to bed. She didn't want to ruin the good mood that she was in. It had been so long since she had been happy, and it felt so good.

Sunlight streamed through the slightly open tent. Asake took a deep breath, stretching out. She had a grin on her face as she sat up. All through the night, Zuko held her, and she didn't have any nightmares at all. However, he wasn't in the tent, and her smile slipped off of her face, turning into a frown. Something small and white captured her attention, so she reached underneath the bag next to her, grabbing the piece of paper.

She sprung up, eyes skimming over the note. Her heart dropped in her chest as she read on. Zuko was out on a mission with Katara, and he didn't know when he was going to be back. She didn't even know he left because she was sleeping so soundly. However, he should've told her that he was leaving. Asake sighed, putting the paper into the bag. She brushed her fingers through her hair, making sure all the knots were gone before heading outside. The sun was bright against her eyes, and she thought she saw someone walking toward her. Suki stood in front of her, blocking the sunlight with a grin on her face. "I was just coming to see if you were awake."

"I am now," Asake said, shrugging. "Why didn't you wake me up when Zuko left?"

"He told me not to wake you," Suki said, nodding. "He said that you were sleeping peacefully and that you needed it."

"He doesn't know anything." Asake sniffed, sighing. "So, what are we going to do while Katara and Zuko are gone?"

"Aang and Sokka are doing something with Toph right now, so it's only us two here at our camp." Suki smiled, hooking her arm through Asake's. "Let's lounge around today. I want to talk to you."

"What if I don't want to talk?" Asake asked, feeling a little grumpy. She was expecting to wake up in Zuko's arms, but he wasn't there. He should have been there. "You should know by now that I don't like talking about myself."

Suki sighed, pulling Asake down to the ground with her. She didn't meet the other girl's eyes, instead looking at the ground as her nimble fingers pulled clumps of grass out of the moist dirt. "Look, Asake, I just want to get to know you. You're an awesome person, and I may be your only friend here right now."

"Zuko's my friend."

"I think he's more than that," Suki said, with a small smile on her face. "But we'll talk about boys in a little bit."

"I have another friend, but she isn't here," Asake said, looking out at the grassy area they were sitting in. "She's from the Earth Kingdom, but she didn't know the real me." Asake looked at Suki, shrugging. "Her name was Lisha. She probably would hate me because I'm from the Fire Nation."

"I don't hate you," Suki said kindly. "Well, at first I disliked you way back at Kyoshi Island because you and Zuko destroyed my village, but I like you now."

"Sorry about that." Asake grimaced. She thought back to that time. It seemed so long ago; so much had happened since they landed on Kyoshi Island. "I hated watching the kids run away screaming because we were attacking them. When Zuko and I rode into Kyoshi Island, I had to hide because I didn't want to see how scared the people got."